We Like Sportz

Pop-ups (24 · 4 fan picks from YouTube comments · 3 clips to watch whole)

1. Orson Welles' gum-chewing radio trick

   0:43

   Akiva asks about Orson Welles' radio broadcasts, and Jorma riffs on the War of the Worlds ending, where Welles chewed gum to reassure listeners the broadcast was fiction. The bit is a playful invented anecdote, so treat it as comedy rather than history.

   Did you ever used to listen to recordings of the Orson Welles radio shows?

2. The Daniels send voice notes

   1:56

   Daniel Scheinert, one of the Daniels, sends the hosts a voice note after hearing the pod on his commute, while prepping a new movie. The hosts play edited clips of his messages, with the courtroom drama details cut for spoilers.

   Talk about the rake. But Daniel Shiner, one of the two Daniels from, you know, the Daniels.

3. IMAX rake frustration

   3:18

   Scheinert says IMAX made it hard to gauge audience reactions, which is why theater rakes and seating matter to him. This ties the earlier Shop Talk segment to a real viewing experience.

   I got pretty bored because all I wanted was to hear the laughter, to see how people are reacting.

4. Fans point here

   4:20

   1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 3 likes.

   Okay, but then I did, all right, full disclosure, then afterwards I said, I'm going to cut out most of the stuff, but I am going to play part of it. I said, if there's anything you want to add, you can now send that to… — Akiva

5. Other Daniel's Encino house visit

   5:54

   Scheinert recalls showing up at the Encino house as an intern-age visitor and says the house was cool. The hosts joke about how small encounters shape careers.

   Cool house. Those are the kind of things I wish I had said 17 years ago.

6. Jack Black at Baja Fresh

   7:25

   Akiva and Andy saw Jack Black eating alone at a Sunset Baja Fresh and were too starstruck to approach him. They were huge Tenacious D fans at the time.

   And we were the hugest Tenacious D fans.

7. Pitching White Power to Sacha Baron Cohen

   8:20

   Jorma gave Sacha Baron Cohen a VHS copy of the early pilot White Power! on Melrose before Hot Rod or SNL. The tape was made at a VHS duping place, and the crew learned they shared a manager, Julie Darmody.

   So I'm on Melrose, and I see Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla getting into their car, and I freak out

8. Matt Stone's lunch-interruption grudge

   10:57

   Akiva gave Matt Stone a tape of a Lonely Island short while Stone was in Santa Monica, and Stone later reportedly held a grudge about the interruption. The hosts treat it as a lesson in not bothering famous people.

   I was at lunch with my agent and you interrupted, you piece of shit.

9. Fans point here

   11:04

   1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 8 likes.

   Yeah, that sounds like Matt. Yeah, so don't do it, guys. Yeah, yeah, that's the lesson. It's crazy that we... Those are still two of the biggest legends of comedy of all time. So we did have... Those are good run-ins.…

10. Chester Tam's voice note on the Encino shoot

    19:57

    Chester Tam recalls the huge rented Encino house with a barn and a basketball court. He notes the shot where the camera was locked off and Keev layered actors in post to fake a single take.

    The one shot that really stuck out to me was the shot where we locked off the camera on the front lawn

11. Digitizing footage was a chore

    20:39

    Shooting on mini DV tape meant each shot had to be digitized in real time, so an hour of footage could take six hours. Chester notes that SNL's infrastructure, including Matt Yonks, took that load off them, while the Encino project brought it back.

    digitize just two guys or being in the room with you guys was that he was a little pissy about editing

12. Mini DV tape and the Canon XL1

    22:10

    We Like Sportz was likely shot on a Canon XL1 or a Sony camera recording to mini DV tape. The format is digital video but records to tape, making the transfer process slow.

    I believe it was XL1 or the 2. The Canon one?

13. The R2-D2 window air conditioner

    24:11

    The team bought a cheap window air conditioner for the Encino recording room because the central AC did not reach it. They ran it between takes, and Jorma claims it later survived a move to New York.

    So then we, yeah, so we had to buy one of those cheap ones that, like, goes through the window.

14. Watch the whole thing

    We Like Sportz

    25:33

    The hosts play this one in 8 parts from 25:33 (120 seconds of it in all, talking over the rest). Watch the whole thing here, from thelonelyisland on YouTube.

    Watch the whole thing (2:06) thelonelyisland on YouTube

15. Kmart cool guy shirts

    25:40

    The team bought out the Kmart section of cool guy shirts for the We Like Sportz shoot. They hung sports team plates from Kmart as set dressing.

    right to Kmart, bought out the whole section of the cool guy shirts.

16. Fans point here

    28:57

    2 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 1 likes.

    He's not a loud mouth like that cutthroat Steve.

17. Sports and nuts call-and-response

    30:58

    The hosts riff on a call-and-response chant: when they say 'sports,' the crowd answers 'nuts.' It's a playful echo of the We Like Sportz refrain.

    Now when I say sports, you say nuts. Sports. Nuts.

18. Fans point here

    31:42

    1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 4 likes.

    I'm the other team captain and I choose you too We steal the ball and we're off to the races Then scare the other team with our mad dog faces like What what what what what what Nori. Yeah, it's a Nori song.

19. Basketball taken back

    33:17

    Akiva jokes about losing the basketball prop to Jorma during the shoot, a petty moment that reveals how the props were shared on set.

    I'm so, I'm so mad that you took it from me.

20. Jonah Hill voice memos

    36:23

    Jonah Hill sends voice messages recalling the Encino shoot. He jokes about being impressed by the Mona Lisa-style painting and by the house.

    I have some Jonah notes.

21. Watching the Mona Lisa get painted

    37:22

    Jonah describes watching the painted Mona Lisa-style portrait made in the Encino house, which he considered a highlight of that period.

    I got to watch the friggin' fuckin' Mona Lisa get painted right in front of my eyes.

22. Akiva becomes Makiba

    39:48

    Jonah calls Akiva 'Mamima,' and the hosts connect it to the nickname 'Makiba' from the song 'Makiba.'

    Well, and then when AC Alone had the song Makiba, we started calling you Makiba.

23. Chappelle in Tights joke

    41:48

    Jonah's third voice memo is revealed as a running prank: a fake recommendation for a David Chappelle set, a long-running joke on the show.

    It wasn't Mel Brooks or Richard Lewis.

24. Font mismatch on the DVD

    44:03

    The hosts explain that the We Like Sportz title font changed between versions because the text was typed directly into the video rather than made as a locked graphic, so a different computer substituted a default font.

    So when it opened on a new computer, it went to a default font.

25. Pasadena practice show

    45:23

    Akiva recalls the Pasadena test show as a strong performance in a small venue with low ceilings, a good rake, and the one that inspired confidence for later shows.

    That was a good show. In a very small venue. And by the way, low ceilings, good rake.

26. 30,000 Bonnaroo fans sing along

    46:53

    The Bonnaroo 2019 performance drew an enormous crowd singing along, and the hosts treat it as a surreal affirmation of the song's ridiculousness.

    Hearing 30,000 people say sucks.

27. Watch the whole thing

    7 - We Like Sportz & Thotiana/a lot/No Limit (Covers) - The Lonely Island (FULL HD SET Bonnaroo '19)

    47:37

    The hosts play this one in 3 parts from 47:37 (108 seconds of it in all, talking over the rest). Watch the whole thing here, from Nate C. Concerts on YouTube.

    Watch the whole thing (2:41) Nate C. Concerts on YouTube

28. Clusterfest practice show

    50:05

    The Pasadena show was the dress rehearsal for Clusterfest in San Francisco, which is why the hosts added Bay-area flavored material to the set.

    So this is technically our first show ever because this was the practice show for Clusterfest.
    ba’jacent

29. Watch the whole thing

    The Lonely Island - We Like Sports Live

    50:48

    The hosts play this one in 2 parts from 50:48 (48 seconds of it in all, talking over the rest). Watch the whole thing here, from Chris Hannickel on YouTube.

    Watch the whole thing (2:38) Chris Hannickel on YouTube

30. Liz's diss track

    51:16

    Liz, the hosts' girlfriend at the time, recorded a female response to We Like Sportz, styled as a diss track in the tradition of Roxanne, Roxanne.

    Oh, you're talking sports and let me get in the game.

31. Sign-off with Arnold

    53:04

    The hosts close with Jorma singing a sign-off song and the familiar 'Later, Quaids' parting line, a nod to the Arnold Schwarzenegger soundbite.

    Later, Arnold. Later, Quades.
    later, Quaids